Mantra Fine Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Pembroke Pines

I would like to start off by saying that the food is good. The samosas are fantastic and the tamarind chutney is great. They do not ask you how spicy you want it, you need to tell them, and even when you do, as a fellow Indian, I can say they under-dose to meet the American palate... no nose or forehead sweat for “spicy” level food. Disappointing. That would not warrant 2 stars however. A restaurant is more than its food. Much of a restaurant is about service. I ordered a pickup order. When I got to the restaurant, as they were packaging I also ordered a Chai tea. They came out with my order and didn’t have the tea. That’s understandable because at that point I just put the order in maybe only 5 minutes before. So I told them I would wait. I put my food in my car and came back in for my tea... no tea. I was told “five more minutes”... It took thirty minutes to come out with my tea. Thirty minutes. I didn’t want to get upset in the restaurant, which is why I’m posting a review. At the time I was speechless and in disbelief. I don’t think I have ever waited for thirty minutes for a meal, let alone tea. What is even more unbelievable is that it did not have the slightest taste of a chai tea and only filled the container about half. I spent close to $200 at this restaurant today and I couldn’t even afford a full cup of actual chai tea in less than thirty minutes, let alone actually spicy Indian food that I requested verbally and written. The raita is not good. This is my second time ordering food with raita here, which I did merely to confirm that it was not very good. It’s soupy and doesn’t have enough cucumbers or carrots in it for my taste. I will make it myself next time. Maybe I will also make myself some chai tea in the five minutes necessary to do so... maybe ten if I want to get fancy and steep it and steam the milk. 🙄 I do acknowledge that raita and tea do not outshine the fact that the food is good, I am just so very very angry about my wasted time here for something that was incredibly...

Some of the BEST Indian food I've had in a long time! Everything from the apps to dessert were sooo yummy!! This cozy, authentic Indian spot you would expect to pay a lot more for food of this quality

Loved the trio of sauces/chutney complimenting the spiced veg samosas! The tamarind sauce was the right amount sweetness to set off the savory samosas.

Chicken Tikka Masala was heavenly! Hearty sauce, tender chicken, and spicy 🌶️ I love really spicy food, but I'm glad we ordered it MED spicy because that plenty for me!

Their vanilla ice cream with an extra creamy whipped topping was the perfect sweet ending to a spiced meal.

The service was top notch and the from app to dessert everything is worthy of visiting again!

-—————————————————————— Updated 21 April 2024

This place was so good, we had to come back!!

This time we had mix veg pakora for an app and it was delish!! Fried, but not overdone and mildly sweet from the onions and savory.

We shared Butter Chicken and Paneer Tikka Masala — both were perfection on a plate!

The Masala sauce in the Paneer was yummy, but I’m not a fan of the Paneer — just my personal taste, but it certainly was still good,

The Butter Chicken on the other hand, OMG soooo good!! I don’t know how they make their sauces but it’s some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had!!

We ordered both Medium spicy and that enough of a kick even for an all things spicy lover like myself.

Also, the service there is impeccable! They’re friendly, work cooperatively with ease to provide then best guest experience.

Can’t say enough good things about this place! If you haven’t tried it, I HIGHLY recommend...

I absolutely love this place. For my first time trying Indian cuisine, it was fantastic. I ordered butternut squash soup, garlic Naan, veggie samosas, mango lassi, butter chicken, and my partner ordered aloo Gobi. The food was fresh and delicious. The service was even better. They're so friendly and enjoy engaging in conversation whenever they come by to check in on you. My partner ordered his food too spicy, so they brought out plain yogurt to help reduce the spice level. They all really care about your experience at the restaurant and want to make sure you have a good time. It makes the restaurant as a whole really stand out from the rest. I loved it so much, I wanted to come back. The second time we came by, I ordered the butter chicken again because it was so good, garlic Naan and onion Naan, salty lassi and sweet lassi. My partner ordered chicken andhra. Again, the food was excellent. Best Naan I've ever had. And I love all the lassi drinks. They're so refreshing. My favorite is the sweet lassi. Again, the service was amazing. This time, my food was a little too spicy for me. I don't have much spice tolerance at all. But the waiter went above and beyond to help me with this. He gave me three options to choose from- more rice, yogurt, or to have it remade. I asked for the yogurt option since it worked quite well for my partner last time. He brought back some sweet lassi to mix into the food. It helped tremendously because of the yogurt and sugar. I liked it so much that I ordered an actual sweet lassi to drink as well. The people here are just so kind. It makes this place definitely one of my favorite...